India vs South Africa, 5th T20I Stats Preview: Players records and approaching milestones

Dinesh Karthik’s brilliance with the bat in the fourth T20I helped India win their second match of the series to make it 2-2 against South Africa. After losing the first two matches, the Men in Blue have responded well to draw level and now, the final (decider) is set to take place on June 19 at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Karthik’s maiden T20I half-century and Avesh Khan’s four-wicket haul were too much for the Proteas as they failed to seal the series in the last game in Rajkot.

India’s top order couldn’t do much as any of the first four batters failed to cross the 30-run mark. But it was Karthik and Hardik Pandya’s show on the day as the duo stitched a 65-run partnership for the fifth wicket to take their side to a total of above 165. Hardik also registered his highest T20I score of 46 as he hammered three fours and as many maximums. Both batters have done a brilliant job in carrying their recent Indian Premier League (IPL) form into the internationals.

So, after a topsy-turvy series, it has all come down to this final encounter. Team India has never won a T20I series against South Africa on home soil and they would like to break that record. In 2015, the Proteas won 2-0 (3) and in 2019, the three-match series got drawn 1-1. The hosts will be wary about their skipper Rishabh Pant’s form while Ruturaj Gaikwad has also managed to deliver just one good score in the series. An exciting and enthralling finish awaits as the winner takes it all in the fifth and the final T20 international.

Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers ahead of the 5^th T20I between India and South Africa:

Head-to-Head: India and South Africa have met each other in 21 T20Is so far with India winning on 11 occasions and South Africa on eight. Two games ended up in no result. In India, both have faced each other in ten matches with the hosts winning three and South Africa five. Two encounters had no result.

1 – Rishabh Pant (99) needs just one six to complete 100 maximums across formats.

1 – David Miller (99) is one game away from appearing in 100 T20I matches.

20 – Ishan Kishan (480) needs 20 runs to reach 500 runs in the T20Is.

72 – Quinton de Kock (1863) requires 72 runs to go past JP Duminy (1934) and become the highest run-getter for South Africa in T20 internationals.

9 – Dinesh Karthik (491) requires nine runs to complete 500 runs in T20 internationals.

4 – Lungi Ngidi (146) requires four scalps to reach 150 wickets across formats.

1 – If India manage to secure a win, it will be their first T20I series victory against South Africa at home.

4 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar (64) requires four wickets to surpass Jasprit Bumrah (67) and become the second-highest wicket-taker for India in the T20Is.

7 – Heinrich Klaasen (43) needs seven fours to get to 50 fours in T20 internationals.

4 – Tabraiz Shamsi (58) needs four scalps to go past Imran Tahir (61) and become the second-highest wicket-taker for South Africa in the T20Is.

2 – Rassie van der Dussen (248) requires two fours to get to 250 fours across formats.

6 – De Kock (194) is also six fours away from reaching 200 fours in the shortest international format.

6 – Hardik Pandya (44) is six fours away from completing 50 fours in the T20Is.

12 – Hardik (2488) needs 12 runs to get to 2500 runs across formats.